Dangote: We Have Enough Petrol To Meet In-Country Supply
President of Dangote Industries Limited (DIL), Aliko Dangote, revealed at the weekend that his company, the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, has over N600 billion worth of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol in storage, to sufficiently and conveniently meet the local needs of Nigeria.
The position of Africa’s richest person, counters that of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) last week, that only 50 per cent can be sourced locally from local petroleum refining facilities.
The Authority maintained that it had continued to grant import licences to oil marketers to ensure that there’s no nationwide fuel scarcity, a position that Dangote has always maintained is not correct. Dangote is currently in court to compel the industry regulator to halt granting of incessant licences for fuel import.
This is just as the Zambian government has said that it is seeking Dangote’s investment in the country’s energy sector.
Speaking over the weekend during a tour of the refinery complex by a Zambia Government delegation, led by the country’s Minister of Energy, Mr. Makozo Chikote, Dangote disclosed the oil refinery has more than half a billion litres of petroleum and over N600 billion worth of products in its tanks.
Chikote, who led a delegation of energy experts to the Dangote Petroleum Refinery to partner Zambia on energy solutions, expressed satisfaction and readiness to work with the African manufacturing giant.
After a tour of the Dangote complex at the Free Trade Zone, Ibeju Lekki, starting from the Single Point Mooring to the Dangote Jetty, the biggest fertiliser plant in Africa and the 650,000bpd largest single-train refinery in the world, the minister enthused that the presentation by the Vice President, Oil and Gas of Dangote Industries Limited, Mr. Edwin Devakumar made their hearts “jump”.
He said: “In Zambia, we created an environment for the private sector to participate in the growth and development of our country. Currently, 100 per cent of our petroleum is done by the private sector.
“We are targeting increased productivity in mining, agriculture, and other sectors. Your presentation is an immediate solution to our energy needs. We are trying to promote competition among our private players
“We are looking at Dangote coming on board, which would lead to efficient, reliable, quality, and competitive products, and we want these done like yesterday. Coming to the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, we have learned so many advantages of bringing many players for competition, which has improved the lives of the citizens,” he said.
The Vice President of Dangote Industries Limited, Edwin Devakumar, stated that the refinery produces the best quality products as its core business strategy.
